The invention generally relates to a refrigerator apparatus for storage of refrigerator contents, and more particularly to a two piece adaptable channel track which can be adjusted to fit various sizes of refrigerators and is convenient for storage of cans, bottles and the like.
The present invention was conceived as an answer to the task of cooling and storing drinks in a household refrigerator. Problems are often encountered in that leftovers from meals often occupy most of the extra space in a refrigerator. Beverages such as soda in individual cans, individual bottles of water, and other beverages, which are continuously being used and replenished, often have their space taken up with something else by the time someone thinks to replace them. When drinks are being replaced it is most commonly desirable to place them so that any cold drinks remaining in the refrigerator are removed while warm ones are placed towards the rear of the shelf. The cold drinks are then repositioned in front so that a person reaching for a cold drink does not have to search, or reach over the warm ones.
In addition, cans or bottles placed on a refrigerator shelf made of wire or of aluminum or steel but having slots running from front to back or side to side, have a tendency to become stuck or even tip over if an attempt is made to slide them in order to make room for something else. This is often the case since the contents of most household refrigerators are constantly changing.
Another inconvenient characteristic of most refrigerators is that the depth of the shelves makes it difficult to reach to the very back of a shelf. This is especially inconvenient in the instance of a physically challenged person, for instance, one who must reach in while seated in a wheelchair.
This invention will ease the aforementioned inconveniences by storing containers, such as for beverages, which are in cans or bottles, utilizing the space which is otherwise least accessible in the refrigerator. When used as recommended, which is, for example, to retrieve drinks from one end and replace drinks at the opposite end, the colder drinks are continuously and automatically rotated to the retrieval end. Therefore, any need to manually shift items on a shelf, either to xe2x80x9cmake roomxe2x80x9d for, or to rotate warm drinks is eliminated. Drinks are substantially easier to retrieve and re-load since there is no need to reach any further than the front of the refrigerator. Further, wire racks in a refrigerator cannot interfere with the loading, unloading, or re-positioning of drinks with this invention, as the cans or bottles do not come into contact with the surface of the shelf. Still another benefit of this invention is the ability to adjust the storage apparatus to fit various size refrigerators.
Several refrigerator devices for storage of containers are currently known in the art. Examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,029,263xe2x80x94Keighley; U.S. Pat. No. 2,581,363xe2x80x94Creedon; U.S. Pat. No. 2,678,735xe2x80x94Creedon; U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,016xe2x80x94Eaton; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,937xe2x80x94Walker. These patents teach various apparatus for holding or storing refrigerator contents, and are hereby incorporated.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,029,263 to Keighley discloses a cooling unit for a refrigerator which includes a corrugated sheet metal portion which is secured to a flat sheet metal portion, both portions together forming a substantially U-shaped structure after being secured together. The corrugations are arranged to provide a refrigerant expansion or evaporating passage between the metal portions. The metal portions of the cooling unit serve as a refrigerating surface for cooling and causing circulation of air within the food storage compartment. A partition is disposed with the U-shaped structure which divides the space between legs of the U-shaped structure into a plurality of chambers. A plate is secured to the U-shaped refrigerated surface and to the partition to provide a support or track upon which a plurality of bottled beverages may be guided through the cooling unit.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,581,363 and 2,678,725 to Creedon disclose a refrigerator shelf with guide tracks, wherein objects such as bottles or cans can be circulated along a curved path consisting of two substantially parallel channels joined by a returning channel. The shelf comprises a horizontal base which supports vertical guiding walls. The base consists of longitudinal bars and cross bars which cross each other. The longitudinal bars form a guideway on which bottles and the like may move. The shelf further comprises a guiding cage wall consisting of longitudinal bars which form lateral guide rails along which bottles and the like may advance without much friction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,016 to Eaton discloses a storage rack for articles in which the articles are received for storage at the front of a first channel and are delivered in series to the end of a second parallel channel, adjacent the point at which the articles are received, by the action of inserting the articles to be stored. The rack includes a pair of closely adjacent article receiving channels and guide means defining a turnaround path. The guide means comprise a resiliently deflectable surface for urging the articles in a direction from one channel to the other channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,937 to Walker discloses a refrigerator organizer for storing baby bottles. The organizer comprises a tray-like means having a U-shaped track defined between inner and outer partitions for receiving and movably storing a plurality of bottles or containers. The U-shaped channel is open-ended so that bottles may be introduced through one end of the channel and removed from the other end of the channel. Friction means, such as ridges or dimples, may be placed on the track for yieldably restricting the movement of the bottles within the channel.
The above storage devices are relatively complex and lack the ability to be adjusted to fit various sized refrigerators.
The present invention is refrigerator apparatus for storage and convenient retrieval of containers such as can and bottles and the like. The storage apparatus comprises a guide channel having a left and right channel member. Both channel member include a base, sidewalls, and interlocking means. The interlocking means are located in an interlocking region and the channel members are joined by the interlocking means. The guide channel may also include friction reducing means.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the interlocking means includes a tongue on one of the channel members and a tongue-shaped slot on the other channel member.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the interlocking means includes finger-like projections and recesses on each of the channel members.
According to another aspect of the invention, the storage apparatus comprises two or more guide channels having a left and right channel member.